First Call: Biggest potholes for Erik Karlsson trade for Penguins, Hurricanes; Kevin Colbert's thoughts on Kenny Pickett

Wednesday’s “First Call” has the latest on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ alleged pursuit of Erik Karlsson. We give you some thoughts on Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett from the man who drafted him.

Plus the Vezina Trophy odds are out, and the Pirates are the latest victims of one of the hottest bats in baseball.

Still dragging out

Our eyes are starting to droop when it comes to “Karlsson Watch” in Pittsburgh.

The latest from Elliotte Friedman on the NHL Network is that the Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes are still the main suitors for Karlsson’s services, but it isn’t clear which franchise is more likely to land him.

“It kind of ebbs and flows,” Friedman said. “I still do think it’s primarily two teams, Pittsburgh and Carolina. If there’s somebody else there, I’m not aware of it. At times, I’ve had people telling me that they think it’s more likely Carolina is going to be the destination. At other times — including the one most recently — they kind of think it’s tipping a little bit towards Pittsburgh.”

On the Hurricanes front, Friedman says there are a lot of moving parts.

“Carolina has a lot of balls in the air,” Friedman continued. “They’re trying to deal with the Brett Pesce situation. I think they’ve talked to some teams about (Teuvo) Teräväinen if they need to make some cap room. So I think Carolina has got a few things going on out there that are not only incumbent on Karlsson, but also incumbent on players like Pesce and Teravainen who are going into the last year of their deals.”

When it comes to the Penguins, Friedman suggested the X factor may be Karlsson’s salary retention by San Jose.

“It comes down to, what is the sweet spot on what Karlsson’s kept salary by San Jose will be? I think, in particular, Carolina has got a number in mind that, at this point in time, I don’t think San Jose’s going to get to it. So we’ll see what Pittsburgh can do,” Friedman said.

As of now Cap Friendly has the Penguins at $2.31 million over the cap. So a third-party team would likely have to be involved for the Penguins to dump salary, regardless of how much San Jose keeps.

Colbert on Kenny

If you are of the opinion that Kenny Pickett’s growth is the biggest variable in the Steelers improvement this year, you aren’t alone.

It appears the guy who drafted him feels the same way.

Appearing on the Armstrong Neighborhood Channel with Ed Codi, former Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said Pickett’s development is crucial to the Steelers success.

“I believe that, if Kenny picks up where he left off, I think the team will continue to progress and they’ll have a successful season for sure,” Colbert said.

Relying on a tried-and-true Steelers front office axiom of the Year 1 to Year 2 jump, Colbert says that anticipating significant progression from the former Pitt Panther is to be expected.

“We always talked about that second year. That’s usually a nice takeoff year for those rookies. We watched Kenny Pickett grow from backup into an inexperienced starter. By the end of the year, he was a more experienced starter and a better player,” Colbert said.

Pickett was the first-round selection for the franchise last year, the final draft of Colbert’s career. His first with the team was in 2000.

Nayling it

So far in their series against the Cleveland Guardians, the Pittsburgh Pirates are getting a heavy dose of what the American League has been dealing with from Josh Naylor.

The Cleveland first baseman has been 2 for 5 in both games at PNC Park, with three home runs and a total of nine RBIs. He hit two over the fence Tuesday.

That’s no fluke. The 26-year-old Canadian is now hitting .311, good for fourth in the AL. Since Memorial Day, Naylor is hitting .397 with an OPS of 1.085.

Early odds

BetOnline.ag has their odds out for the 2024 Vezina Trophy winner. To no one’s surprise the favorite is New York Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin at 5/1.

The 27-year-old Russian was a finalist for the award this season, finishing behind 2023 winner Linus Ullmark.

He was second behind Ullmark in saves above average (35.99), third in save percentage (.924), sixth in goals against average (2.24) and tops in shutouts (6).

New York Rangers star Igor Shesterkin is second on the odds board at 11/2, Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators is next at 7/1.

Ullmark is at 16/1 after having been replaced by Jeremy Swayman during Boston’s disappointing first-round upset loss to the Florida Panthers. Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky’s odds are 40/1.

As for Pens goalie Tristan Jarry, he’s at 50/1. That’s still more narrow than Adin Hill (80/1), who just won the Stanley Cup for Las Vegas, and former Penguin Marc-Andre Fleury, who stands at 100/1 with Minnesota.